Tallinn rejects motorcycles and e-scooters on bus lanes

Tallinn opposes allowing electric scooters and motorcycles on public transport lanes, ERR reported, citing concerns that they could slow services and increase the risk of accidents.

Deputy Mayor Joel Jesse said the city had repeated its opposition to a bill allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes to the parliament’s economic affairs committee, which is reviewing the proposal. A separate suggestion made last week to allow light vehicles onto bus lanes also does not have the city’s support.

Jesse said adding more road users could make public transport less punctual and journeys less smooth. He said the risk was particularly high for electric scooters because of the size and weight difference between them and public transport vehicles. Large vehicles’ blind spots could increase both the likelihood and severity of crashes, he said. Where trams use the lanes, there is also a risk of scooters getting caught in the tracks.

Jesse also pointed to conditions from autumn to spring, when rain, reduced visibility and wet or slippery roads can lengthen stopping distances.

In spring, Tallinn proposed removing a provision that allows taxis and electric cars to use public transport lanes, saying this would improve the reliability and speed of public transport.

The city says the lanes have become significantly busier in recent years. Estonia had 1,649 registered fully electric vehicles at the end of 2020. By October 1 this year, there were 13,354 fully electric vehicles in categories M1 and N1, including 9,000, or about two-thirds, in Harju County.

Tallinn’s press service said the rapid increase in electric vehicles, particularly in Harju County, had slowed public transport on the lanes and made it harder to keep to schedules. The city says access to the lanes should therefore be restricted rather than expanded.